return of ix

[usosmall]

It had happened so quickly, X didn't have time to even send out a distress signal.

Zero had been occupied with another mission, so he'd taken a small squad of B-ranked Hunters with him to investigate a string of disappearances and disruptions in a remote district within the city. If anything happened, X would have been more than enough to deal with the threat... or so he thought. The other Hunters were equipped for combat, yes, but...

Nobody had been expecting the Mavericks to still be there.

Stragglers from the remains of Doppler's forces, though Doppler himself was long gone. Sigma had been destroyed as well, so why were these Mavericks even still around? None of this made any sense.

It wasn't like he'd had time to think about it, watching his own squad be cut down one by one. The last thing X remembered after that was a massive explosion, several bombs going off all over town, the sound of crunching metal and then... silence. He isn't sure how long it had been between then and his systems finally, sluggishly, coming back online, but the muffled sound of rain pouring against debris is enough to keep him from fading out again.

That, and dull, throbbing pain all over his body. The debris covered most of his body, and there was the stiff, morbid scent of oil in the air. Testing one of his arms, X finds his left completely mangled from the blast, but the right was still usable. Shards of his own armor litter the ground around him, most of his chestplate blown open and exposed. Lifting his head, he can feel his helmet caved in on one side as well, keeping it firmly tight and attached to his head as he struggles to crawl out from under the mess.

And somehow manage to pull himself to his feet, though his vision refused to settle. The sight around him stutters and glitches, static blasting in his own ears. X stumbles forward in a daze, grasping at his injured arm and unable to think of where he's going or what's happening. The mavericks have long-since departed, and dead, mangled bodies of fellow Hunters litter the remains of the torched town.

explosion, X manages to send out to whoever his first contact was.

explosion
dead
explosion

He can't think, a shudder running through damaged vents. The message repeats a few more times, the Reploid just blindly staggering forward through the carnage.

Comments

[v1le]

Consciousness was a slow process. Damaged code ran along his thoughts, broken strings that he couldn't register yet. There was pain, just like [death]. That couldn't have been right, he was alive and so was his host, meaning...

The first copy failed. That meant this current consciousness was born using remnants of the first attempt, taking advantage of the leftover virus that had infiltrated their host. But who would go that far? His host's memories told him there was something beyond Doppler that could have revived Mavericks. Whatever it was, it might have revived him as well as an accident.

He would have to start all over with taking energy from this body. In its critical status, there wasn't much either of them could do. His host couldn't fight him off but he couldn't help him grow, either. It benefited both of them if he offered support in the healing process. Once his host regained his strength, he could take from the infinitely cycling energy to build himself up.

The pain put his host in a pitiful state of mind. [X] was sending out distress messages that would take who knew how long to reach his teammates. That could be worrisome if a nurse unit decided to do a full scan. He would hide in the deeper region of X's code. They would see [X] in a vulnerable state and worry about his vitals.

He shared in his host's discomfort, their body was protesting from the accumulated damage of the explosion. Open wounds along his limbs combined with his processors struggling to remain online. The struggling form made pained sounds, stumbling and hanging onto a wall briefly. It was sheer will keeping himself upright. Like any being, it was putting strain on his host's mind that could lead to careless mistakes.

In this vulnerable state, an enemy could pounce or X could lost outside of a teleport zone. The hunters at base will see your message, he soothed the panic stricken mind of his host. Faintly, nothing that sounded too different from his usual thoughts. If not one of the hunters at base, then surely Zero will come. Like he always does.

[usosmall]

He'd felt something briefly during the initial explosion, a jolt of static following the concussive blast that had thrown his body several yards and under a pile of rubble. Electronic interference, maybe? Or maybe he'd just clocked his head that badly.

It doesn't matter right now, not with the roar of fire all around him, or the chunks of wall still crumbling down, threatening to once again bury what was left of his body.

The more he staggered forward, systems crying out in his ears that he had been losing vital fluids at an alarming rate, the more difficult it became to make sense of anything. Messages became garbled symbols, his pointer flying off in different directions, unsure if he was even sending anything to anyone anymore or why he was doing so in the first place.

His leg sparks and convulses, sending him stumbling sideways into the remains of a wall, fluid staining the charred steel as X slides to his knees. He could feel the first drops of rain beginning to spread over the fire, bouncing off his damaged armor and slipping into open wounds.

His damaged processor was at war with itself, fighting the instinct to keep moving in order to allow someone to find him. But if he sat still, his systems would be quicker to shut down. Dead is bad. Rest is death. As long as he still felt pain, that... that was good, right?

Couldn't feel any other signs of life around him. Alone. Fire. Pain. Tired.

Alone.

The vents in his chest lock up at his pitiful wheeze, oil-slick hands trembling as they claw at his support.

"Ze-- ro..."

[v1le]

Stay awake, he coaxed his host. Go find shelter but don't go so far that your team can’t teleport to your location. The signal was faint here but it was just enough to ensure someone would eventually get his messages.


‘You’re not alone.’ He used soft tones when speaking to his host. ‘Remember? Zero always says he’s with you.’ He used his presence to cover X’s hand that was still on his host’s chest. He crooned into his aural cone. ‘He already worries about you too much. Stay alert.’


Idiot. He didn’t need to say that part. X’s groggy subconscious was already starting to reach his feelings. X was careless, he couldn’t protect the unit of hunters he had brought along. X failed this mission. He didn’t disagree with those sentiments, but reminders of his host’s weakness was useless. So was his influx of emotions, always a mess but put under extreme stress, it was downright crippling. Survivor’s guilt was the last thing his host needed to be feeling right now when they had to stay alive.

‘Keep going. See Zero.’


Focus on safety and the physical embodiment of it in his host’s eyes. His proud stance when he would appear to X’s rescue. His strength that he lent X without expecting anything in return.

‘You better stay alive. You owe it to him.’

[usosmall]

X could feel the voice on the edge of his consciousness, urging him forward. He knew that voice was right.

What would Zero think about all of this? What if he showed up and X was just laying there, dead? What was he going to think about this mission in itself? X had failed, again, because he couldn't protect anyone. Always having to lean on Zero for everything...

"Z... Zero..."

He had to keep going. Get up, keep moving to safety. He couldn't let Zero or anyone else get hurt again. The static clears in his vision enough to see another hand over his own trembling, oil-stained one, following it up to--

...himself? No, it disappears a moment after. He's... he's fine. He's just a little banged up. It's okay.

His damaged legs spark and rattle as X struggles back to his feet, a swift knock to his chest with his fist un-jamming a vent fan so he can breathe again. It still rattles inside his frame, however. One more wrong move and it'll block itself up again. Don't do that.

Keep going.

Something muffled comes up on his comm. Words that he can't remember the meaning to. Not his voice. But there's a stable-looking pile just a few meters out from here. Shelter from the rain and the lingering fire, perhaps.

Strange...

He feels... cold.

Enter Zero

[v1le]

As soon as the distress signal reached H.Q, Zero was alerted that it was X's unit that had been hit. The rest was a blur from his auto-pilot kicking. His own mission was dropped without further information given. Priorities were simple; teleport to the source and find X. Fighting his way through the crumbling structure didn't register so much as his scanners looking for the familiar energy reading. X was here, he was sure of it, and judging by what he could pick up on from his friend, he was alive.


Dread washed over him once he hit the ground. There was barely anything left standing. Reploid body parts were barely recognizable among the debris. It was a bad habit of his to linger on those details for too long. His mind was clear, the objective wasn't complicated. He kept his footsteps silent on the chance there were enemies still lingering, though his scanners told him that any Mavericks that might have been either fled before the explosives went off or were taken down alongside the Maverick Hunters that had once been here.

Zero's consciousness returned once his visual processors could hone in on his friend. There X was, in a small pile and curled into himself. He looked smaller than usual and the normally blue armor looked dark, almost black, from the burns and ash. With the light rain falling onto him, he was glowing in the faint embers. Faint sparks danced along his limbs from open wounds. A quick scan informed Zero that the accumulated damage had reached critical levels. Zero didn't waste any time checking if X was conscious or not. He was by his side and attempting to pick up the smaller android.


Much to his annoyance, X flinched from Zero reaching for him. He writhed at being touched but now wasn't the time to yell at him. It wasn't like X could fight him off, Zero needed to get him to their medic bay.


"Don't worry, buddy." Even as X weakly pushed his chest, Zero held onto him. "You'll be okay."

He said this as much to himself as he did the android in his arms.

They were greeted by the familiar voice of emotionless Lifesavers and Dr. Cain leading them. Their human friend had enough of a response to compensate for the group that was taking X from Zero's embrace. No one told Zero he couldn't tag along with them during the repair process, so he saw no reason not to. He didn't want to leave X's side when his body was almost in pieces.

"I'm glad you got to him in time." Dr. Cain spoke while they briskly walked together. Once in the repair room, the collective had X on a table and laid out tools. Dr. Cain nodded at them.


"...I am, too." Zero leaned against the wall and watched them work.


X was still squirming in pain, prompting Dr. Cain to direct a Lifesaver to sedate him. X's body went limp and Zero hid his sympathetic response that wanted to come out. He didn't like the medic bay, especially if X was the one being looked at. It was in these moments, he envied his friend's ability to at least be able to offer help when Zero was the one who sustained damage during a mission. The best Zero could do was find him, then bring the android to the specialized team who could actually fix his body.

He listened to the group's back and forth while they put X's wires aside and repaired his inner hardware. As mechanical as their words were, at least it was good to hear that X was being stabilized.

He was okay. His friend would be alright.

Once X was back online, they could figure out what happened together.

[usosmall]

Memories were spotty after he felt his knees buckle, and his body hitting the floor. It had been quiet for awhile, aside from his own voice urging him to stay awake, stay alive.

And then came the hands.

The hands had not been attached to anyone. Bent, and burned, and blackened, crawling on the ground with a torso, and legs. X remembered trying to get away, flinching from their touch, and feeling his own head being lifted to meet the face of a familiar, lifeless one staring back at him. He'd struggled. He wanted to scream. But nothing would respond in time and he felt himself being carried off somewhere.

And then there were more hands, more voices. Searing, agonizing pain all over his melted and charred body, all beginning to center in on his chest. It was enough to almost drown out the other voice that had been accompanying him until now (his? their's? who was that? who who who--)

A jolt to his systems, and everything abruptly went offline.

X was laying in darkness, feeling a presence at his feet. Voices around him distant and muffled, and he could still faintly feel himself being pulled and nudged around. Strange... since he had been laying here on his back.

What was real? What was happening?

He mentally reaches out, not wanting to be alone in this darkness. It seemed to grow, dulling his remaining senses, and pulling him further in. Not yet, not like this...

iX

[v1le]

His host body being handled by outsiders made this tricky. He could take cover in X's inner code, which he was happy to discover the scientists touching X didn't fully understand. Mutterings of this body's complexity meant they were too stupid to comprehend an anomaly like himself. Even the human brushed aside the difference in X's energy, though it was too close of a call when [Dr. Cain] told them to do another full scan after X was online. The human gave up trying to comfort the blue robot.

Good, he didn't like being touched, either. X's pathetic fears were easy to tune out but being manhandled was something they both had to endure. At this stage, it was left to X's nanites to accept the repair job. The rest of his system would be fine. This did not mean X had woken up yet, giving him time to glance up at the doctor units, the human, and the red android still in the room.

The red guy was so tired he hadn't noticed he had dozed off while leaning against the wall. The workers probably hadn't, either, too occupied with X. It would've been laughable if every part of this body didn't ache. It was a relief that the arms and legs weren't a mess of wires and broken synth-skin anymore. The rush of power he was greeted with when taking control briefly was addictive already. So much potential and the android he was attached to was afraid of this? Too bad he couldn't go on a test run, not yet. Not until this body was up and running.

Dr. Cain approached X again, wanting to be comforting when he touched X's arm, only to regret it when iX flinched. Answering questions wasn't something he wanted to deal with, but he could pretend to still be unconscious.

The human patted the metal frame near X, muttering something that sounded like it was concerned. Dr. Cain finally looked over at Zero. Their interaction was quiet but X's aural code pick up on it better than the previous side-remark.


"Sorry..." Zero stood up straighter upon being addressed.


"You had back-to-back missions, hush. There's nothing more we can do except give him time. I'm glad you were able to rest for a bit. You won't go home even if I told you to."


There was a pause, followed by a soft sigh from Zero. "I want to talk to him when he wakes up. He might have more to say about the attack---"


"That's true. But you shouldn't rush at him for answers when he wakes up, either." Dr. Cain smiled reassuringly. "He's going to be okay, Zero. You should be reminding him he's safe now once you can talk." His expression turned serious. "...You can keep an eye on him for now, but when I come back tomorrow, I expect you to get a proper recharge."


"I will..."


Covering it up with work related excuses, like usual. A comment that would make his host feel awkward if X were awake. It made him sick having those feelings in the background. That was a perfect combat android and X reduced him to this, stuck baby sitting because of 'feelings' getting in the way and clouding Zero's judgment. The medic staff dwindled through the night, pretty much ignoring Zero while they checked X every so often. The last one left closer the morning. Zero remained alert this time, his intense glare could be felt even without looking at him.

'You'll worry him to death again.' His bitterness leaked out at X's consciousness beginning to stir.

[usosmall]

The feeling of something pushing him down had been the only thing preventing him from regaining consciousness any earlier, though X pegged it down to the sedation.

He'd been injured before, his systems not quite cooperating with the rest of him as he tried waking up in the past. Just a brief glitch, or the remnants of sedation not quite fading all the way.

Still... this felt different somehow. Familiar? He's not sure.

He could feel the darkness beginning to ease up, dull currents of aches and pains running up and down his legs and the side of his head. They didn't feel as exposed as they had just been, but still heavy and sluggish to come back online properly. There was also a familiar presence beginning to flood his core, digging into his paranoia of wanting to wake up faster.

X messed up, and now people were having to worry about him again. He keeps doing this. The other signal-- Zero. It's... it's Zero, isn't it? Zero had to come save him again, already preoccupied with another mission and probably forcing himself to stay up late for X's sake.

Stupid. Stupid mistakes, stupid--

He takes a moment to compose himself, though his own voice is still nagging at the edge of his mind. 'You'll worry him to death again.' Again. Like the last time Zero had to come to his rescue.

To death. To--

A flash of a charred, broken, and lifeless red torso in his arms has him scrambling back on the table and screaming loud enough to wake the entire medbay along with him.

[v1le]

X's yelling snapped Zero out of standby. His friend was pulling at his body, scrambling from a night terror that prompted Zero to rush to his side. He had to use force to stop X from hurting himself with how roughly the smaller android was clawing at his own limbs. Zero didn't feel bad for being this way until green eyes were looking at him in the same way when they were reunited after his first death.


"Cut it out, already! You're not in enemy territory, it's me." Zero remembered Dr. Cain's words. "...You're safe now. How are you feeling?"

[usosmall]

X's hand was balled into a fist, seconds away from connecting with whoever had been unfortunate enough to grab him in this state before the familiar voice registers in his aural receptors. The scene in his mind cuts away suddenly to those same hands grabbing him, restraining him, with dented blue armor accompanying them. The disorientation from waking up here, the terror of his dreams, and the loss of time causes him to freeze up, struggling to allow his processor to put all the pieces back in place.

But he can't help the horrified, almost haunted look directed at his friend. X feels himself trembling, his vents flying into overdrive and unable to pull himself away for the longest time.

Claw marks adorned his wrist guards, the android finally breaking eye contact for his vision to trail down to his own hands, now gripping at the table below him. He'd messed up again, hadn't he?

X's mouth moves slowly, his voice chip catching in his throat. If he answered honestly, it would just make matters worse, wouldn't it? He felt horrible, confused, overheated and almost... sick. But Reploids can't get sick. That's impossible.

Zero's here. Alive, not in pieces. Probably demanding answers. X tore him away from his own mission to deal with this, after all.

"Mavericks," he finally manages to mumble, pulling together bits and pieces of recent memory. "My... my squad was attacked. I think something hit me. I..."

X flinches again from the touch, in a move to try and curl into himself. With his friend holding him down like this, however, he doesn't get very far.

"They died. They all died."

His voice is distant, feeling himself drifting away from reality and back into his own head again.

[v1le]

"I can hear your ventilators overworking from here. I'm aware, your signal was the only one I could find. We can make up for their sacrifice by tracking down whoever did this." Zero's mouth went off before he could think of a more tactful way to respond to X. His best friend's fear was filling the room with anxious energy that was infectious. He let it slide that X was seconds away from attacking him.

His friend wasn't himself right now, that much was obvious. His processors might have been telling Zero to be concerned of X becoming a threat but he pushed it aside.

Zero had been in that situation. It only served to motivate him with wanting to destroy the Mavericks involved with this for making X have to go through this kind of feeling. He hadn't noticed the small wounds X left behind during their brief tussle, Zero's gaze followed X's to the scuffs on his armor. His wrists had dents and scratches from other fights, the ones from X didn't bother him. What did was how profoundly afraid X was.

Zero was hoping that if he spoke gently this time it would bring X's attention back, "They agreed to be hunters knowing the risks, just like you and me. Their deaths aren't on you. That's why we fight Mavericks, right?" He really wanted X to focus on him instead of having that glazed over expression but it wasn't working. "X?"

He couldn't reach him and it made his frustration grow.


"...X?" Zero tried touching his arm only for X to flinch away.

iX

[v1le]

He was excited for a moment when X's body reacted violently. Was there a fight?

It woke iX up in an instant. His host was afraid of unseen enemies, iX wanted to use any opening to test their power. He was disappointed when X's visual processors concluded it was only Zero.

Of course, they were still at H.Q. Whatever caused the explosion wouldn't be stupid enough to launch a direct attack on Hunter base when X and Zero were there, Doppler knew that well. Much to his disappointment, Zero was barely scathed and X didn't go through with a full fledged hit. Perhaps...


If he pushed him enough...Zero was powerful, just being near his energy excited iX. A fight with him would be perfect. He sent images to remind X of his prior failures. Countless people were gone because X couldn't even protect a few hunters that were put under his care.

Zero's reassuring tone was annoying background noise. A unit designed for fighting had no reason to coddle X like a child. Disgust followed after when it worked to bring X's attention away from the gruesome images for a moment.

[usosmall]

"Don't-- touch me." X bit back in an uncharacteristic snarl, jerking away from his friend's touch and further up the table.

The words came out on their own, surprising even himself, with a rush of guilt overflowing his senses not a moment later. X shook his head, clawing at his helmet with a trembling hand. He'd nearly struck his friend in a panic, and now this. Maybe he hadn't given himself enough time to recover, or the blast rattled something deep in his processor.

It was terrifying, and he needed to be more careful.

"I'm always telling you to be more careful..."

"No, I-- sorry, I don't know where that came from." His voice was more timid this time around, quiet and fearful. "I... I don't know what's happening."

"But look at me now."

The image comes across his eyes again, of his friend on the ground. Broken, battered, dying. Because of him. Everyone was dead because of him.

X's other hand comes up to his own chest, clutching at his core, clawing at the armor there. Something was welling up inside of him, but draining the rest of his systems. He hadn't felt anything like this since the first time he'd confronted Sigma, when everything else all came to a head.

He thinks for a moment, struggling to collect himself.

"...hey. Zero. I need to ask you a favor."

And his next question comes very, very quietly.

"If I ever hurt you, or anyone else. Can I trust you to be the one to retire me?"

[v1le]

Zero's CPU almost crashed. In their years of working as Maverick Hunters, they both had their fair share of destroying former friends. It was harder on X, but Zero could empathize with that pain. Zero couldn't have heard that right. He fought for the ones he cared for, X being at the forefront.

If he had to fight X...

The thought brought on waves of dread. He was reminded of the times X's emotions took over or when he was infected with that thing by Doppler's Nightmare Police. Zero hated the thought of something else manipulating X again.


"You can trust me with anything, X, but you're not thinking clearly. Don't bring this up again." Zero spoke more curtly than intended. "...What matters right now is you being okay. I think you need to rest a bit more---"

Upon saying that, Zero didn't know what to make of X glaring at him coldly. It was brief, X blinked rapidly and he had a confused expression. He might not have even realized he reacted in such a way.


"Forget what I said, you're system is close to 100%. We need to take these guys down, ASAP." Zero's logic circuits took over. When his emotions risked muddying his judgement, the war machine's processors knew what to do. "I'll take a look into any leads, then we're heading out. The sooner we can make progress, I'm sure you'll feel better."


He wasn't actually but in Zero's situation, that usually made him feel better. It was hit or miss with that working on X, his friend always had mixed feelings at the end of a war. At the very least, Zero wanted answers and he wasn't going to get that from X at the moment. It was best they find out from the source.

[v1le]

His host was left to feel ashamed and scared. Zero stood to leave, taking hesitant footsteps towards the door. It made iX sick how those two had a parting glance, X simply nodding that Zero could leave.


X's frustration could be felt easily. It was practically choking his host, those shameful feelings over his weakness. Self loathing followed after, mixed with guilt and fear of where those emotions would lead him. X was afraid of his power, even when he was offered to become stronger.


'You heard him. Now's the time to redeem yourself.' This was the opening he had been waiting for. 'Each time, your enemies come back stronger because you hold back.'

X tensed up. It was expected, the blue robot was probably thinking he was losing it.

'We've been here before. You can have this power and you don't have to suffer with your pain, all alone. This is a choice. What will you do? Remain the same, hesitant and losing more lives. Or...' He touched X's chest, the robotic pulse of his hardware could be felt under his fingertips. X's anxiety excited him. It meant X was listening. '...Never lose Zero again. Be able to protect H.Q, Dr. Cain, everyone. Never deal with that pain after you destroyed your enemies again.'

1/2

[usosmall]

"Zero..."

Maybe he was just tired from everything that had happened, but his voice in his mind seems louder than ever. It was always like this after a difficult mission. He'd sit here, alone, chiding himself over what he could have done better. X's hand tightens over his chest, smudging the now-repaired metal there.

"Zero, please..."

Zero hadn't given a clear response to his request. He almost seemed offended by the very notion of it. Maybe he'll bring it up again in the future, once things have settled down a bit. X had to know, for his own personal closure. If he ever truly lost himself, if the Maverick virus wound up claiming him and hurting everyone he loved...

This was bad enough. This couldn't happen again. All of those people under his care... every single one of them had died. X didn't care if it was their duty, or they knew what they were getting into. He still had a responsibility to protect everyone.

"I don't want power." X finally mumbles to himself without thinking. Who was he talking to? Himself? Was he finally losing his mind? "I don't want to hurt anyone else. I just..."

What did he want? Peace? How would he achieve that, when his enemies always turned a deaf ear to his protests? Was violence really the only outcome, every single time?

It made him... angry. It frustrated him to no end. Why? Why was it always like this?

2/2

[usosmall]

He barely noticed when his free hand moved towards the cord still connected to his chest, swiftly turning into a vice grip.

He couldn't keep letting this happen. He can't just sit here and do nothing. The hand yanks the cord, the resistance from still being connected to his chest and the force of his own energy pulling on the cable tearing it in two in an explosion of heat and sparks.

The remainder of the cord releases from the clamp in his chest, falling to the table lifelessly as X shoves the rest of it away, dutifully pushing himself to his feet. In a single moment, it felt like he was running on pure determination, an unknown force sweeping over his systems.

Re: 2/2

[v1le]

"I don't want power"

How pitiful his host sounded with that protest. He didn't want power? He wanted to remain the same and let all those lives go without being avenged?

'As long as there are terrible people out there, someone has to fight. You were built with that in mind.'

X recoiled physically from that thought. Good, it was upsetting him. His host's anger spiking gave him a rush. That power, it was there, lying dormant and iX desperately wanted to harness it. Zero's frigid response was just the stimuli he needed. X's feelings were hurt, the sensitive fool.


A fight with Zero would have to wait, though the idea brought on fiery urges. Or perhaps that was just a response from X's anger? Their hardware was too warm. Ready for combat. Through coaxes, he managed to get X to stand up and follow after Zero. The remaining devices the Lifesavers had attached to X's limbs were carelessly thrown onto the ground nearby, then X dashed down the hallway. He couldn't look at or respond to the less experienced hunters he saw along the way, blatantly ignoring one from his unit who asked how he was doing. X's thoughts were a chaotic swirl that iX was enjoying every second of.

Unfortunately, it calmed down somewhat when Zero was back in sight. The red hunter was in front of one of H.Q's many monitors, typing away furiously on the keyboard. Ever the experienced hunter, Zero had a map up already of leads for them to follow. It was making his host uncomfortable seeing that many familiar Mavericks having been resurrected. Some of them had just been deemed active that morning, by the looks of it. Without looking away from the screen, Zero addressed them.


"4 of these guys were nearby at the time of the attack."


"No they weren't---" X cutting him off was annoying. iX was going to take over but Zero spoke for them.


"Easy, they look far but they're actually just a quick teleport away. Just like I was... I know what I'm doing." Zero's eyes narrowed. "I understand your head must still be scrambled. We've been through this before. Ugh...How many times are they going to reactivate old dregs?"

X's disgust at having to destroy reploids was getting in the way. iX pounced, 'The same ones who always cause destruction. If all it takes is destroying them again, it's good to know you can handle it. And...it'll be faster this time...' He tapped X's buster arm. 'This will work better.'

Re: 2/2

[v1le]

'You could trust me to know what I'm doing...', Zero didn't say that out loud. It was clear X was still lost in his thoughts. The smaller android kept spacing out.


"We'll keep constant connection. For this first one, I think it's best if we go in together." Zero glared at him. "And don't argue with me on this one. We have no idea how strong they are yet and I don't feel comfortable throwing in a large unit when they still think we're recovering. A small unit will work, just you and me."

'And this way, I can keep an eye on you.'

Zero could see the conflict building up behind X's eyes. He sighed, "Dr. Cain will be our navigator. I think it's best we handle this like we did Doppler. If they were able to do this much damage to you..." Don't let emotions take over. "Are you ready to go? Let's start with him--" Zero pointed at the revived Armored Armadillo.

[usosmall]

X could hear the metal creaking in his own balled fists as emotions took over, walking over to a louder terminal to try and mask the sound.

'Work... better?' What did that mean? Why was he having these thoughts?

More importantly, why wasn't he questioning the idea of having someone talk to him in his own head? It felt natural somehow. Maybe a glitch from the concussion.

Not important right now.

Anger was still boiling over in his chest - from this whole situation, to the loss of his comrades, and Zero's urgency. He'd gotten past the point of objecting to his own voice in his head, knowing it was bringing up very valid points. If they just sat around and did nothing, even more innocent people would get hurt. It might even come down to X having to kill the same former comrades over and over again.

It made him feel sick and anxious. But X wasn't stupid. Something had to be done.

"I made a mistake," X finally responds quietly. "I'm... I'm not gonna let that happen again."

And maybe it was still too soon after he'd been brought back here; X was still feeling a bit shaky in his limbs, but he bit it down. The alternative was Zero going alone, and that would mean him getting hurt just as bad as X did, if not... worse.

Another flash of that image passes his eyes, and he shakes his head. Don't get distracted, don't fail anyone else.

Don't have even more blood on his hands.

'I don't like this.' X thinks, feeling weird for responding to his own conflicting thoughts. 'I don't want to do this. I'm sick of it.'

"I'm fine. I promise."

Armored Armadillo. Again. He'd have to kill him again, won't he?